When I crossed Union Boulevard to look at the Academy neighborhood, which was struck with the full force of the tornado, things got deeply depressing. The neighborhood is bounded by Union on the west, Delmar on the south, MLK on the north and Kingshighway on the east. First of all, I had to detour because…
Tag: Ruins
After the Tornado: Fairgrounds
Crossing Natural Bridge Avenue, we head into an area of the city that has not gotten much media attention, but was hit just as hard as other neighborhoods to the south. Ashland Elementary, above, was seriously damaged, and from what I understand will be closed past the start of the new school year. In fact,…
After the Tornado: Around the Ville and Greater Ville
Fountain Park, which has been in the news a bunch already, was crowded with disaster relief efforts so I continued on, not wanting to get in the way. I headed up North Taylor Avenue, taking a quick look at the Lewis Place neighborhood before heading into The Ville. I’ve looked at the building above before,…
After the Tornado: Photographing Destruction
I grappled with whether I should take or post any photographs of the tornado damage that struck St. Louis on May 16, 2025, which a reader noted will now be indelibly linked with the anniversary of the founding of this website on the same day. Is it ethical to photograph destruction, and in particular people’s…
Sligo Steel Fire
A catastrophic fire struck the buildings of what I understand to be the old Sligo Steel buildings on the Near North Side along North Broadway just north of Downtown. This is not the first time these buildings have been hit by fire; I covered a previous one back in August of 2016 (there are others,…
The Ruins, North Broadway, Far North Riverfront
I was heading up North Broadway when I spotted something out of the corner of my eye that made me make a U-turn and investigate. Through the lush undergrowth that had sprung up from the heavy rains we’ve seen this spring, I spotted the ruins of an old building peeking out. Through some research, I…
Demolition, The Workhouse
Regardless of your opinion of the Workhouse, or more properly called the Medium Security Institution, it is being demolished, and I thought I would swing by and take a look at the site. I had never actually stopped before, and really, driving along Hall Street, I’m generally looking out for maniac drivers around me so…
The Staircase and the Swimming Pool
It was warming up so we went back out in the area that was cleared for the Weldon Spring Munitions Plant during World War II in St. Charles County. After exploring this staircase, we came across this concrete box of undetermined use. Does anyone know what this could be? Old fence lines survive, as well….
Tragic Fire, Quinn AME Chapel
Tragic, terrible news arrived on February 23, when fire severely damaged the historic Quinn AME Chapel in Carondelet. I looked at the African American church back in December of 2020. As others have noted, due its construction in 1869, the building is perhaps the only one left built by the former independent town of Carondelet….
Former Friedens German Evangelical Church, In Ruins
Well, I guess there’s not much to say but St. Louis has lost another beautiful church to fire, most likely set by squatters trying to keep warm on one of the coldest nights of the winter so far. In this case, it was the former Friedens German Evangelical Lutheran Church, which I first looked at…